Joan, Joan, Joan

Season 5 of Mad Men begins tomorrow and I am anticipating it greatly.   There have been a fantastic few years of great dramatic television series and Mad Men is certainly at top of my list, right up there with The Sopranos and True Blood.   So much about the show appeals to me.   The office environment, the male/female workplace dynamics, the era (which isn't much examined), the deeply emotional and psychologically complex story lines and character development.  It is a deep and delicate dance that is peppered with intermittent moments of horror and revulsion.

Though the molten core of the show is certainly Don and Peggy, I must admit a fascination with Joan. Played by Christina Hendricks, she is an intriguing and beguiling character.  Joan is the office manager for the advertising agency that is the backbone of Mad Men.  She is sexy but maternal.  She is tough but knows when to back off.  She lets the madness around her happen and chooses her moment to intervene carefully.  She is fantastic under pressure---a force of stillness in the midst of mayhem.  She can be cutting and direct, but her motives are rarely poor.

One of the scenes that encapsulates her to me is this one...maybe one of the most memorable Mad Men sequences ever.  Bear in mind that this idiocy is happening in the office where everyone is drunk after work and thinking its rational to drive around a lawn mower.  (Side note:  I talked to my former boss this week and we've often talked about Joan as he's a Mad Men fan too and he said he'd never be able to watch this again because his son cut off his toe with the lawnmower this past weekend!)  You'll see Joan being Joan--both in her interaction with Peggy and with the "incident".  Handling it.  Dealing.  On point.  She rarely shows weakness unless she knows she can do it safely and unobserved.

I totally admit that egocentric or not,  I see glimmers of myself in her. I definitely identify with her and that is why I love her character so much.  I need 25 pounds surrendered to the treadmill,  her wardrobe and push up bras, and her hair color.  And then you can bring on the madness---or more of it, anyway.